11.13.2015

ALBUM REVIEW: Know-It-All -Alessia Cara

On her debut project, Know-It-All, singer Alessia Cara shows her great potential for a long career in the industry!

The album, officially released today, November 13, is a great blend of alternative pop and soul, and is perfectly mellow! Alessia is a talented singer, and her vocals are pretty impressive on the album. However, her material stands out even more. Throughout the project, Alessia shows that she has a lot of wisdom beyond just her 19 years. She's a calm, cool, and collected rebel who has no problem doing her own thing, which separates her from the pack of generic pop singers scrambling for a spot in the industry.

Check out the rest of my review below!

The album is an extension of Alessia's Four Pink Walls, as the first five tracks come directly from that EP ("Seventeen," "Here," "Outlaws," "I'm Yours," and "Four Pink Walls"). From the beginning, she shows that, even at her young age, she's learned a good deal about how to navigate life, crediting her parents in "Seventeen." The singer refuses to forget where she's come from, She also discusses moving past dreaming passively in "Four Pink Walls." Through her talent and hard work, she's now here in the limelight, living her dream!

"Here" is Alessia's breakout hit that could be seen as every introvert or wallflower's life story. Attending a party with her friends, the singer is not impressed at all, and can't wait to leave. "Really, I would rather be at home all by myself, not in this room of people who don't even care about my well being," she sings nonchalantly. She''s way more laid back and has different ideas of fun than the majority of her generation, so all the craziness at parties don't interest her. She just tolerates it for her friends. From the moment I heard it, I thought to myself, "This is my life to the T!" This is a track where it's clear that she knows she's different from the pack, and that suits her just fine. She talks about being a chill nonconformist again in "Wild Things," perfectly content with not being a part of the "in crowd."

Alessia also sings of her experiences of love on the album, and it's clearly been a crazy rollercoaster ride. On "I'm Yours," the singer opens up about not looking for love, but getting sucked in by a special someone. ""I'm mad at you for being so cute, and changing my mood, and altering my route...what's wrong with you?" she jokes. She reveals she's been hurt before, but has opened her heart to make room for love once again, so she asks if that person could proceed with caution when it comes to her. The ride of love is crazy beautiful, as we all know. Alessia touches on it several times on tracks "Stone," (which is a beautiful, acoustic ballad that stands out on the track," "Stars," and "Outlaws," where she connects her experience with her love as being them being ride or die rebels, there for each other no matter what. On "Outlaws," she sings confidently, "You'll never face a judge without me...you'll never battle the gavel alone. And if they lock us away then I'll be still here probably waiting to kill more time with you." In love, it feels like you can take on the world as long as you have that one person by your side. However, "Overdose," can be seen the unfortunate end of her high off of love, as she eventually realizes she's in over her head. I loved all of these tracks because I could connect my own personal life to each of them in some way.

The standard version of Know It All ends with the moving, standout song "Scars to Your Beautiful," where Alessia recounts the story of a girl struggling with her self-esteem. "Oh, she don't see the light that's shining deeper than the eyes can find it...maybe we have made her blind," the artist sings. "So she tries to cover up her pain and cut her woes away, cuz covergirls don't cry after their face is made. Alessia encourages the ladies specifically to see the unique beauty within themselves, and not look to society's own standards.

The deluxe version of the album also holds great tracks "River of Tears," "My Song," and a really cool piano version of "Here," the 2:00 AM version!

I love the peaceful feel of the album overall. Alessia and her production team did a great job in creating a well-rounded, mellow project that listeners can identify with. As I said before, the singer's talent is undeniable, but what's great about this album is how confident she is in herself throughout this album. For her to be young and new to this industry, that's important to maintain who she is in spite of all the craziness that goes down. Alessia's connecting her life to her music is sure to help and motivate others to be themselves as well. I look forward to what's to come from her!

RATING: ★★★★★ (Five stars)

You can buy Know-It-All now in stores and on iTunes and other digital outlets!